The Thing Is

NY State Disaster Case Management Program: Hurricane Sandy

Shannon K. Wagner — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:31:40 +0000

New York State Disaster Case Management Program

HURRICANE SANDY

Background

New York State, with funding from the FEMA, is providing disaster case management (DCM) services for New Yorkers with unmet needs arising from Hurricane Sandy. Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York is managing the DCM program, as it did following Hurricanes Irene and Lee.

The DCM program is designed to provide a locally-based disaster case manager for New Yorkers with unmet needs related to Hurricane Sandy.

My evolution of gaming consoles

Shannon K. Wagner — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:47:45 +0000

Odyssey 2, Colecovision (with Atari 2600 adapter), Sega Genesis, Nintendo (back when it was first called “no-friend-do”), Sega Saturn (when games started coming on CDs), there may have been another game console later?

Then the whole gaming thing changed in a big way. Personal computer were more prevalent and I was less motivated to go out and buy a game console even though I always enjoyed them when I had them. Online gaming was invented. Sony and Microsoft jumped into the business (I never owned a console from either of them). First-person shooter games replaced the old fantasy puzzle-adventure games I used to play. At times, I lost interest. Other times, I thought about buying the latest console but could get over the hurdle of the big expense – not just the console but then all the games.

I guess in a way, games are cheaper now than ever. Premium games for the latest consoles can cost $60, but that’s how much they cost back when I bought my Sega Saturn – which seems like twenty years ago. And today’s games offer far more features, it seems.

Recently, I bought the new Wii U – choosing it over the Sony Playstation or the Microsoft Xbox. I bought it over the others since I’ve always loved the kinds of games that Nintendo puts out (although Sonic and anything by Electronic Arts have also always been sentimental favorites).

Just a few days in, and I have to say it is pretty amazing. Not just the game, but the direction that the whole gaming experience has gone in. Yes, there are still quirks (and I realize immediately that I wish my console had a built-in large hard drive, so I am shopping for an external one now), but the online experience, the expandability, the subtle evolution of old games like Mario Bros. into new things that are more engrossing and imaginative than ever, without simply devolving into stupid piles of graphics and sound. It’s really impressive how good a job the game developers have done.

And the ability to download a demo of a game before buying it digitally over the Internet – brilliant! Just saved me $60 on a game that I was planning to buy but I realized immediately when I played the full-featured demo version that it was not for me. No big deal, I’m sure I will buy an alternative this weekend in its place.

Filed under: Unfocused Tagged: Consumer Technology, gaming, Nintendo, Wii U

17 May, 2013 08:37

Shannon K. Wagner — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:37:39 +0000

Reaching goals requires reaching people. And reaching people requires communication of the right sort.

Filed under: Unfocused

On the New York City bike-share launch month

Shannon K. Wagner — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:57:40 +0000

The bike-share program is just about ready to kick-off in Manhattan. Already I see divisiveness. How can something that is so good, and so positive, become a point of contention?

Filed under: Unfocused Tagged: Biking, New York City, Politics

Every day, just as the train should be

Shannon K. Wagner — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:56:58 +0000

Every day, just as the train should be leaving, they close the doors and make us prisoners. Not for more than a minute or two, but those moments have their impact.

Filed under: Unfocused Tagged: commuting, New York City, Penn Station